The Magic of Magic Camp
by Sheru
Summary: AU Rydia/Terra -- Rydia arrives at a Summer camp for Magic as a counselor, thinking she will be only teaching this summer. But the other green haired girl, Terra, ends up teaching Rydia a thing or two about herself. My first Fic! Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't so much where she was at or what she was doing that was making Rydia nervous – more so it was the green-haired girl across the room arbitrarily glancing at her, then looking away and smiling, that was putting her on edge. _Why is she constantly staring at me_? _Do I have something on my face?_ Rydia thought,trying to nonchalantly catch her reflection in her spoon.

This was her first morning here. She had arrived to the summer camp for magic, located just north of Mysidia, late the night before and hadn't really been able to sleep. She was here as a camp counselor for the summer as one of the few remaining Callers, the only others being old and senile… and well, senile. Luckily, Rydia noticed nothing on her face in the dull and distorted reflection the spoon cast back at her; unluckily, that did not explain the fascination the green-haired girl had with it.

Eventually, the green-haired girl got up and emptied out her tray and walked out of the mess hall, but not before flashing Rydia one more smile as she walked out the door. _Glad that's over with, _Rydia thought as she finished her bowl of oatmeal and toast in quiet seclusion – the last quiet time she would have before the kids arrived for the summer. _Yeahhh, toast! _Rydia thought, munching down on the slice of deliciousness covered with strawberry jam.

As she walked out of the mess hall, finishing the last bite of her toast, she noticed several busses pulling into camp. Many of the other counselors, none of whom she knew yet, were making their way to the greeting area where the kids would be dropped off. It was clearly obvious that most everyone here had close bonds with each other. Everyone but her, making Rydia feel rather homesick already.

"Rydia?" a man's voice said, startling Rydia out of her thoughts of home. She hadn't thought anyone would know who she was, since the only correspondence she had was through carrier pigeon during the early spring months. The camp was eager to find a Caller to be a camp counselor, and Rydia had thought she was ready to get away from home for the summer. Turning around, Rydia could only guess that this was Cid, the head camp counselor, the one who had so eagerly requested her for the summer. A little too eagerly, Rydia had thought while reading his letters, but the old man still seemed rather harmless, just overtly jolly and friendly.

"Yes?" Rydia responded, still slightly startled. Standing behind her was a gray-haired man, wearing a bright yellow cloak with red trim. Perched upon his nose was a small, flimsy looking pair of spectacles. _This has got to be Cid, _Rydia thought as the old man's expression turned to complete joy the instant he heard her response.

"I thought it was you! You are the only counselor I didn't get to meet last night at orientation. Must have been a long journey for you, but we are all glad you could make it. It will be nice to have a real Caller in camp with us this summer," exclaims Cid, starting to sound more excited with every word. "And oh, would you look at that! The kiddos are here! Come on, Rydia, let's see which two will be yours for the taming this summer!" He was chuckling more to himself now, as Rydia did not like the idea of having to 'tame' children this summer.

The two made their way towards the busses just as the kids were getting off and an instant look of dread swept across Rydia's face as she watched the madness unfolding in front of her eyes. Clearly full of pent up energy from the long bus ride, the kids were already running every which direction, chasing each other, poking each other with sticks, attempting to light each other's hair on fire with the little bit of magic they know.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Rydia thought as images of the little monsters catching her own green hair on fire came unbidden into her mind, though she couldn't suppress a giggle or two when she thought of Terra running through camp with her hair set ablaze.

Just then, Cid blew his whistle, catching Rydia off guard, almost causing her to fall backwards. "Sorry about that, Rydia. It's the only way to get their attention at this point," Cid stated, chuckling softly to himself. Rydia was not finding anything to chuckle about at this juncture, especially with the green haired-girl now standing next to her, casting her glances once again.

_This is going to be a long, long summer... _Rydia thought, but gave a smile when the thought of the green-haired girl being tortured by numerous children crossed her mind again. She glanced at the girl, now wondering if it was because they shared a similar hair color that this she seemed to have this awkward fascination with her.

"Children! Children. Please, if I can have your attention, we can get you introduced to your camp counselors for the summer and the real fun can begin!" exclaimed Cid, nearly euphoric now as the prospect of another summer camp crossed his mind. He had been the head of this camp for a decade now, and had seen many children come through, and some return as counselors themselves. He had many fond memories himself as a kid coming here for summer camp, pulling pranks on his counselors and even disturbing the Tonberry in the cave just north of the camp grounds, causing all sorts of grief for the camp that summer. It did not end well for him that summer, to say the least.

Starting again as the children finally began to resemble something less like a pack of starving animals around a freshly slain Antlion, and more like an unorganized pack of recently fed animals, Cid continued, "Children... excellent! I'm so excited to see some familiar faces and some new ones!" He paused to chuckle that chuckle Rydia didn't think she would get used to. "Now, let's get you all introduced to your counselors for this summer! Ummm.. Terra, do you have roster assignment sheets?"

Handing over a clipboard to Cid, the green-haired girl stepped back to her place next to Rydia.

_So, Terra is her name, _Rydia thought to herself, returning Terra's smile to her with more of a grimace than a smile. In Rydia's mind there was nothing to be smiling about.

After examining the roster, Cid began to introduce the children to their counselors, most of whom Rydia had seen in the mess hall this morning but had no real desire to introduce herself to, having only four hours of a mostly restless sleep the night before and not nearly enough coffee in her to be overtly friendly or outgoing towards anyone.

_Ugghh... why can't I just go back to bed for a few more hours? What the hell is with Terra and her constant staring at me? And why does she always flash that smile as she turns away? I wonder who I am going to have to bunk with? Hopefully not Terra.. I can just see myself waking up to her staring at me... and smiling... God! That smile! And her stupid green hair! I totally had the green hair thing going on before she did... that bitch!_

Rydia had noticed she had mostly zoned out, lost in her thoughts, and was actually getting rather close to falling asleep standing there when mention of Terra brought her to.

"...Terra," _Ughhh, Terra! "_you will have Krile and Relm under your wing this summer," said Cid, and the two girls, obviously close friends from previous summers, jumped up and down before running up and latching on to either side of Terra. "And Rydia, you will be in charge of the twins, Palom and Porom! Now, everyone, you are free to spend the next few hours getting acquainted with each other. I shall be around should you need anything," Cid stated as he walked over to a few of the counselors with far too much pep in his walk for someone of his age.

The twins, either not caring or just not paying attention, did not move from where they were huddled, both staring intently at something on the ground and talking amongst themselves. Ready to get this day over with, Rydia walked towards the twins – and just she reached them, an explosion of magic knocked her back as a very confused beetle simultaneously grew in size and flew towards Rydia.

"eeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!! GET IT AWAY!!!" squealed Rydia as she instantly began to cast a spell in defense, not knowing exactly what she was defending herself from at this point.

"Noooo!!!!" The twins yell yelled simultaneously, "Don't hurt it!!" as the beetle finally landed back on the ground. Still looking rather confused, the beetle hurriedly scampered off. Rydia, still on the ground in shock, watched as it shrank back to its original size and went to hide under the nearest log, where it was probably going to drink itself to oblivion after that experience... if beetles drank, that is.

"Palom, you doof! You totally messed that up!" Porom screamed, grabbing the nearest stick and whacking Palom over the head with it.

"OWWWWWwwwwwWWWW!!! I totally did not mess that up! It was all you!" Palom retorted, grabbing his own stick to fight back with.

Still recovering from the surprise of a mostly random, giant beetle flying towards her, Rydia now looked upon what could only be described as two twins gone bat shit crazy. Finally fed up with most everything for the day, Rydia quietly started to chant a spell, and seconds later, the dust started to settle to reveal the twins collapsed upon each other, sticks in hand, silently sleeping.

_What could those two have possibly been trying to do? _Rydia wondered, but before she could begin her next thought, she eyed Terra walking towards her with both Krile and Relm in hand. _Great! I bet she'll have something to say about this. That bitch!_

"Wow, quite impressive, Rydia. I was curious as to how you were going to be handling those two," Terra said, once again flashing Rydia a smile, but seemingly somewhat friendlier to Rydia this time. "Not that I didn't think you'd be able to, it's just the whole camp knows what a handful the twins can be. Catch up with me later, we should definitely talk and get to know each other – we _**are**_ bunk mates for the summer, after all," she finished, giving Rydia a wink as she walked off with Krile and Relm in hand.

_Friends! Ha! She probably just wants to know how I keep my hair such a vivid color of green. Unlike that tangled mess of seaweed she calls hair! Figures I would have to be bunk mates with her... perhaps Cid can make a bit of a switch for me._

The twins started to awaken, mumbling to each other about what just happened and blaming each other for putting the other to sleep. Before they could realize they were both wielding sticks, Rydia yanked them out of their hands, seriously contemplating bashing both over the head with them herself, but she forced herself to reconsider since she had just put them to sleep. That was probably good enough for a first impression.

"Hey, lady! Give those back!" the twins squealed in unison, both making grabby hands for the sticks Rydia was now holding above her head. "We had those first!!"

"I don't think so, kiddos, " Rydia said, not about to give into the twins. _Can't let Terra see me as a pushover already… even though I totally can be at times._ Both twins were now looking up at Rydia, pouting slightly, just enough for Rydia to find it adorable. "Let's go grab some lunch, then I'll give them back if you two don't cause me enough trouble. Plus, if you super good, we might just get that beetle again and I'll show you a super fun prank you can pull on someone with it."

The twins were instantly intrigued by the prospect of making someone scream in fear; Rydia was instantly intrigued with making Terra scream, which she fully intended to do before the summer was over with.


	2. Chapter 2

~WHAACCCKK~ "Palom, learn some respect!" Porom told her twin as he sat rubbing his head looking up at her in a bit of confusion. "You cannot keep addressing her as, 'Hey Lady', especially if you are going to insult her!"

"But, I wasn't insulting her!! I was just saying that I like Terra's shade of green hair better!" Palom retorted.

Rydia was doing her best to hide her annoyance at the young boy's remark. She, however, was quite impressed by Porom's maturity, which had clearly been on vacation when the twins had first arrived. Their entire lunch together had gone on this way; Palom making some comment that he found harmless, but which offended Rydia, and Porom hitting him over the head and correcting his immaturity.

"Please forgive him, Rydia. He's still just a little boy." Porom said, with a look of superiority over her twin brother. Rydia nodded as she finished a bite of her sandwich as the door to the mess hall burst open and Cid ran in, apparently having just cast an 'Ignore Old Age' spell upon himself prior to his entrance.

"Alright kiddos, as soon as you finish your lunch head to the meeting site so I can get you oriented for this summers activities! Counselors, this will give you a chance to get settled into your rooms a bit more and get acquainted with your roommates." And with that said, Cid galloped back out of the mess hall.

"Well, see ya later, lady!" Palom exclaimed, jumping up and running out the door, Porom following close behind yelling at her twin for his constant rudeness.

_At least I can enjoy the rest of my lunch now with a bit of quiet._ Rydia thought to herself, though she instantly had to hide a wave of annoyance that swept her body when she looked up from her lunch to notice Terra walking towards her from the other side of the room.

"Hey roomie! Wanna go get our room in order with me? As soon as you are finished with your lunch, of course." Terra said as she sat down across from Rydia. "I am really looking forward to rooming with you this summer. It'll be so much better than my previous, creepy roommate."

Rydia looked up at Terra with a smile. _I guess maybe Terra isn't all too bad... I probably just need some sleep. But she is still a bitch if she thinks she is pulling off that hair color better than me! I can't believe Palom likes her hair better than mine._

"What was creepy about your last roommate?" Rydia asked, deciding it may actually be nice to have some decent conversation. Anything would be better than listening to the twin's argue with each other at this point. As she finished the last bite of her sandwich, she began to stack her's and the twin's lunch trays._ "_And what was her name?"

"Oh, I don't remember her name, really.. I ended up staying with a friend of mine after the first week, and avoided creepy girl as much as I could." Terra said as the two girls laughed together. "But, for the first week that I did use my bed, I'd always wake up at random times at night with her standing over me.. just staring at me. Not to mention her general 'Let's be super annoying' behaviors. " Terra said, laughing to herself. "Anyway, you ready to head to the room?"

Rydia nodded as she picked up the lunch trays to put them away on her way out, quite satisfied by the sandwich the camp chef, Quina, had put together for her. _Mmmmm sammich. Quina may be a bit odd, in every way imaginable, but sure can make a delicious sammich. _Rydia thought as the two girls walked out the door while Terra was telling more ridiculous stories about her previous roommate, Rydia, mostly ignoring her, still quite captivated by her sandwich.

It didn't take long for the two girls to notice something was amiss when they had gotten to their cabin. The first sign being that the door was slightly open; not how either one of them had left it. Terra walked in first and found a small, wooden box with a latch keeping the cover closed sitting on her bed with a note on it that read, "A small 'care package' for your kindness from last summer." Rydia had a larger box on her bed with a similar note reading, "A 'care package' welcoming you to your first summer here." Both notes were left unsigned.

"Well, this is a rather nice surprise. I wasn't expecting anyone to be nice enough to leave a me a care package for the summer. Just wish they would have closed the door." Rydia said, laughing a bit, as she began to open her box.

"No! Don't..." Terra exclaimed, but it was too late. The box was open, and it only took a second for the contents of the box to be jumping around the room aimlessly, making a rather unique ~Squish~ noise with each landing.

"Whaaaa.. what are these things!!!" Rydia screamed, jumping back and ran towards Terra, glomping her, causing both girls to fall back onto Terra's bed, Rydia still latched onto Terra.

"Oglops! Have you seriously never heard of Oglops!?!" Terra said in a disbelief. "I think I know exactly who did this. 'Care package' indeed, Dagger."

After much debate, Terra finally was able to convince Rydia that oglops were in fact, harmless, and an hour later the two girls managed to gather the ten oglops back into the box from which they had emerged. Moving the box of oglops off her bed Rydia collapsed onto her bed with a heavy sigh. Terra moved her still unopened box next to Rydia's and sat down on the edge of Rydia's bed next to her.

"Well that was exciting, wasn't it?" Terra said, looking down at Rydia with a smile, who was still breathing heavily from the task of capturing the oglops.

"Yes, lets never do that again." Rydia said with a laugh. "You think you know who left these for us?"

"Most likely it was Dagger, her and I kinda have a history. And this seems like one of her typical pranks that she would pull on someone new to camp. Especially since you are my roommate this summer." Terra said, starting to look a bit nervous.

"History?" Rydia started to say, looking a bit puzzled.

"Yeah, practical jokes and such. You know, the usual crazy camp antics." Terra said, now deciding to avoid the topic of what she really meant by 'history'. "So, you got a significant other back home?" Changing the topic away from her.

Rydia turned over on the bed, now laying on her side looking at Terra, looking a bit surprised at the sudden change in topic. "Well, not really. I was dating this guy, Edge, up until a few months ago... things kinda turned bad... after a certain incident occurred."

"What kind of incident? He didn't cheat on you did he?" Terra said, starting to have a sinking feeling inside at learning Rydia had a boyfriend recently. _Nothing like chasing oglops for an hour to make me realize I actually do have a crush on this girl, and I probably don't even have a chance with her now. Figures the most attractive girl in camp this summer WOULD be into guys. _

"Oh no.. nothing like that." Rydia said, looking away from Terra, starting to blush. _Why am I opening myself up to this girl like this. She is such a bitch. Her and her green hair. "_It's just that.. well.. the first time he tried to kiss me.. I kinda.. head-butted him, then ran away. It was just.. weird.. I don't know."

Though she was now really curious, Terra decided to leave it at that, nodding understandably to her new crush. "Well, we better get going.. it's about time for us to go perform some magic for the kids.. showing off and such." she said, smiling down at Rydia as she stood up, offering her hand to help her up.

The kids were all seated around a rather large, open area, seated on benches that had obviously been quite weathered. Some even had scorch marks on them, which Rydia could only guess as to how they got there. Cid and several other counselors were already standing in the middle talking amongst themselves.

"There's Dagger." Terra said, "the brunette wearing tan and white." Terra was now scrunching her face up in disapproval at the girl, but instantly changed it to a smile when Dagger looked over and saw the two walking up. "Oh, and.. more about that history with her that I have, she is the one I stayed with last summer. So you know, if it comes up."

Dagger ran up to the two girls and glomped Terra, glaring at Rydia with a thin smile while doing so.

"So, you two becoming best of friends? Or are you going to have to be sleeping with me again all summer, Terra?" Dagger said.

_Sleeping with? Is there more to this history of theirs than Terra was letting on?_

"Well, I hope she doesn't feel like she has to sleep elsewhere this summer, Dagger. I kinda get the feeling we'll become quite close." Rydia said.

"I guess she's told you all about me then?" Dagger said, grinning at Terra now, who was starting to look rather nervous at this first meeting with her ex and her current crush. Terra could already tell that Dagger knew she was into Rydia, and was probably going to try to ruin this for her, if it wasn't already ruined to begin with.

Rydia was already more annoyed with Dagger and her arrogant nature than she ever was with Terra. "Well, she really only told me she had to stay with you last summer. I picked up on the fact that you are a bitch just by looking at you." Rydia said, not wanting to make enemies, but feeling rather confident Dagger deserved it.

Before Dagger could say anything else, Cid came over to the three and put his arms around Rydia and Dagger's shoulders.

"Ahh, Rydia, looks like you are starting to make plenty of friends here. Good! Good!" Cid said, and his eyes instantly lit up as he looked around, "Looks like everyone is here! Rydia, is there a creature or something you could call, something harmless, of course, to show us all? It's been so long since we've had a Caller in staff here. I'm sure everyone would love it!"

Rydia looked at Dagger, then Terra and gave her a smile. "Of course! I actually learned something new to call earlier today, so I'd like to give that a shot anyway."

Terra was now becoming more concerned about the situation that was unfolding. Dagger knew all of her secrets. With a puzzled look on her face she looked at Rydia and mouthed "What?" Rydia just winked back at her. _This can not end well for me._ Terra thought to herself with a heavy sigh.


End file.
